Food labels can impact production and distribution in ways that aren’t obvious, especially if they are government-mandated. Meat producers and industry organizations have been very vocal about the negative effects of the United States’ Country of Origin Labeling policy, which, as previously mentioned, outlines the process by which meat products were cultivated and where the animals they were made from were raised. The disagreement as to this ruling has recently led to an official lawsuit against the USDA.
The American Meat Institute asserts that these restrictions cause unnecessary obstacles and violate rights on three counts, calling the mandate “burdensome” and costly. On its own website, the organization quotes the USDA in reference to the program as not being for user safety, a point of contention.
According to the FAQ released by the USDA and the Food Safety Inspection Service, all retailers are not necessarily required to conform to these practices. However, the groups serving as plaintiffs in this case, which include eight American and Canadian meat organizations, say that the government agencies involved (the defendants) have no basis to force these changes.
“Because there is no legitimate justification for the new ‘Born, Raised, and Slaughtered’ regime, and because these new rules will impose significant burdens on and radically restructure the way meat is produced and packaged in this country, Defendants’ new COOL regulations violate the First Amendment, which prohibits compelled-speech regimes in the absence of a substantial governmental interest,” the lawsuit states.
Whatever a company’s specific beliefs, this conflict demonstrates the very divisive nature of something as simple as a product label. Proper documentation can be obtained through the use of a color label printer that can make stickers that adhere to the needs of all parties.
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